THREE STYLE
Celts soar to win but concern over Brown after he limps off
BRENDAN RODGERS described his Celtic side as ‘outstanding’ last night after a convincing 3-0 win over Anderlecht that gives the Scottish champions real hope of European football after Christmas.
Goals from Leigh Griffiths, a deflected Patrick Roberts strike and Scott Sinclair saw Celtic ease past their Group B rivals and put them in pole position to secure third place and progress to the Europa League at least.
Bayern Munich’s 3-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in last night’s other
EARLY in the second half, Celtic found themselves in unfamiliar territory. Holding a two-goal lead away from home in a Champions League group game, perched on the edge of victory.
For Scotland’s champions, it was uncharted territory. Their 28th game away from home on European football’s biggest club stage, the only other win came five years ago in Moscow, secured in the last minute thanks to a Georgios Samaras.
There was none of that old uncertainty here.
From the moment a deflected strike from Patrick Roberts nestled in the Anderlecht net early in the second half, Celtic could see new possibilities.
The realistic prospect of third place in Group B and European football after Christmas. And, whisper it, a possible challenge to Bayern Munich for second.
Scott Sinclair’s emphatic finish in the 90th minute was the icing REMAINING FIXTURES — Oct 18: Bayern Munich v Celtic, Anderlecht v PSG. Oct 31: Celtic v Bayern Munich, PSG v Anderlecht. Nov 22: PSG v Celtic, Anderlecht v Bayern Munich. Dec 5: Celtic v Anderlecht, Bayern Munich v PSG. on the cake. The perfect end to a performance which began nervously and developed after the opening goal from Leigh Griffiths in 38 minutes.
This was, in the end, an accomplished and mature display by Celtic. The problems afflicting Anderlecht do nothing to detract from a performance featuring swift counter-attacking menace and solid defending.
Returning to the city of his birth, Dedryck Boyata enhanced his hopes of a place in Belgium’s World Cup squad no end, forming an impenetrable barrier with Jozo Simunovic. Anderlecht players were on a ¤40,000 bonus to win here. The bounty could have been doubled and it would have made little or no difference. This was Celtic’s night.
A first goal for Griffiths in the group stage of the Champions League was a clinical Celtic counter-punch. The catalyst for what followed and a stark reminder of the fickle nature of football at this level.
For 38 minutes, Olivier Ntcham was having a night to forget. He could do nothing right.
Replacing Stuart Armstrong, the £4.5million summer signing was there to keep possession. To do the simple things.
Yet, for the opening half hour, the Frenchman was a nervous wreck. The best anyone could say was this: He wasn’t alone.
The narrative of this game changed, however, when Ntcham played a sublime, defencesplitting pass to send Kieran Tierney racing into space on the left side of the 18-yard box.
The Scotland left-back raised his head to see Griffiths making headway towards the back post.
A perfectly-weighted centre was slammed into the net with the minimum of fuss. Celtic, with their first real attack of the game, had the lead.
Hosting a team struggling for form and confidence, Anderlecht’s Constant Vanden Stock Stadium fell into a stunned silence but for 1,500 raucous travelling fans in a far corner.
Yet, the home team should have levelled the scoring instantly.
The talented Sofiane Hanni threatened to take advantage of the Celtic defence standing off a minute or so after the goal — but a low shot from 16 yards was gathered comfortably by Craig Gordon.
With half-time approaching, the visitors breathed again. They entered the interval with the most improbable of leads.
Improbable because, for all the pre-match expectations, Anderlecht looked the likelier team.
Boyata, however, exuded confidence in defence. In other areas of the field, Celtic looked nervous and unsure. Their good fortune was the inability of Anderlecht to take advantage.
Make no mistake, lacking in penetration, quality and composure until Celtic’s goal, this looked every inch the meeting of the pot three and four teams in Group B.
Seventh in the Jupiler League, nine point adrift of leaders Club Brugges, Anderlecht’s cause was not helped by the loss of central defender Uro Spajic before halftime following a clash with Sinclair. His replacement was Kara Mbodji and the giant defender had the kind of opening to the second half he would probably rather forget.
It started so promisingly for the home team. With their best player and captain Hanni rolling Scott Brown 25 yards from goal and thumping a troublesome half volley towards Celtic’s goal.
Gordon managed an unconvincing save, the ball bouncing off his chest and running loose into a dangerous area. An offside flag eventually spared the embarrassment of Lukasz Teodorczyk when the striker sclaffed the loose ball wide of an empty goal to howls of derision from the home crowd.
Anderlecht’s exasperation and frustration merely increased when Celtic doubled their lead five minutes after the restart.
The goal was a gift from the footballing gods. A comedy of errors from the Belgians.
Olivier Deschacht was placed in an unenviable position as a risky pass across the face of the Anderlecht area ran under his foot. Like a starving whippet, Roberts pounced on the error with one thought in mind.
Similarly to Ntcham before the opener, the diminutive winger had given little to write about. That changed when he cut the ball on to his left foot, his only aim being to shoot. The ball ricocheted off Mbodji past the helpless Anderlecht keeper Frank Boeckx.
Seeking to find a footing back in the game, the home team had the rug whipped from under their feet once more.
For Anderlecht’s interim manager Nicolas Frutos, it was now win or bust. Given four games to prove himself after the sacking of Rene Weiler, the caretaker’s roof was leaking with enough water to flood the place.
Hauling off the veteran defender Deschacht — the only survivor of Les Mauves’ win over Celtic in 2003 — Romanian playmaker Nicolae Stanciu took to the field. Anderlecht, now, had little left to lose.
The hope for Celtic was clear. That, as the home team went for broke, they would leave gaping holes at the back ripe for exploitation.
And before the hour mark Roberts came close to adding a second, turning with his back to goal and slamming a left-foot shot inches wide of the post.
A lay-off might have been the better option.
But Celtic’s need for goals was significantly less pressing than Anderlecht’s.
Callum McGregor’s introduction for a tiring Tom Rogic in 65 minutes added fresh legs to a midfield likely to come under increasingly
desperate pressure in the closing stages. Celtic had their lead. They only had to hang on to it now.
In these circumstances, you’d expect nothing less than an intercontinental ballistic missile to curtail Scott Brown’s will to win. Yet the dying stages of this game witnessed the rarest of sights; the No8 tumbling to the ground injured. A hamstring injury will be assessed in the coming days.
If the loss of talisman and captain Brown marked bad news for Brendan Rodgers, Gordon Strachan was entitled to place his head in his hands. Brown’s involvement in key World Cup qualifiers against Slovakia and Slovenia next week looks now to be in some doubt.
It was the only negative of a night rounded off by a stunning Sinclair finish high into the net in stoppage time.
The host city for tense, taut Brexit talks, this much can be said of one national institution. Celtic show no signs yet of separating themselves from Europe.